


Sleep, my love, let me guard your dreams

by Karria



Category: Vampire: The Masquerade
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-08-26
Packaged: 2020-05-15 09:45:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 3,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19293208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karria/pseuds/Karria
Summary: LA by Night shortfics/ drabbles/ whatever else I write.1. Vampires don’t dream, but the Beast never sleeps. (shortfic)2.Pottermania (drabble)3.Empty (drabble)4. Paws5. Quiet Night6. Lost Call7. Question8. the dawn breaks, lost whisper echoes9. Safe Travels





	1. Sleep, my love, let me guard your dreams

Vampires don’t dream, but the Beast never sleeps. Sometimes it reared its ugly head during daysleep, talking when she had no means to silence it.

_Hmm, and that Nosferatu. So interesting… so unique, wouldn’t you say? He would be perfect in an exhibition. Right after we drain him of his vitae, that would be fantastic. Finally, something to study!_

She trusted him. It was against all of her instincts and reasoning. You don’t trust a Nosferatu; they always find a way to make merchandise out of information and if necessary, sell you out to the highest bidder.

(He saved her life. More than once)

Jasper trusted her; he told her as much. Perhaps it was unwise of him; blood magic was powerful, and Tremere, well, unpredictable. Not as much as Malkavians, by any means, but then again, _they_ couldn’t kill you just with a vial of your blood.

_Strauss will get to him. You know he will, he always does. Why not shorten Jasper’s suffering?_

Trust meant more than loyalty. Trust meant more than love.

_He’ll be mine, eventually. You can’t stop it._

She wakes up. It takes her a few seconds to remember where she is; Jasper’s haven, she stayed for the day, it’s safe. The sense of comfort in the 24 hours of peace they managed to rip out of the Beast’s claws was the most she had in years.

It can’t last; she knows it better than most.

*

Jasper’s Beast talks whenever it wants. Sometimes it shuts up for unusually long amount of time. When Jasper was younger, he thought that maybe, one day, it would go and never come back. He quickly learned that it wasn’t true.

_First, I’ll get Annabelle, and then I’ll get Eva. They really smell delicious. And it is within your usual selection, isn’t it? You don’t even need to put them in a cage. You know what, if you ask nicely, I bet they wouldn’t even put up a fight._

When it starts, it’s hard to shut it up. It chuckled and then stopped for a while, only to resume its nagging, making him want to bang his head on the nearest wall.

_She would exempt you from her ward. So trusting. As if you deserve it. Who do you think you are, Jasper? A hero? A savior? There is nothing you can do to help her. You’re so, so weak. Give in, Jasper. Take a sip._

He wakes up, and she’s still there.  One of the books must have fallen to the floor during the day; it opened on a random page. A Chinese incantation of some sorts; he’s not sure. Some flower petals have fallen on the cupboard as well.

Yesterday was not his imagination after all.

He needs a plan, and he needs it fast. Strauss can’t find out, but he has no doubts that he will. And when he’ll come for her, he needs to be ready. He failed once, and he can’t bear for it to happen again.

(He was lucky Chloe didn’t wound up dead in an alleyway and he knows it.)

*

“I hope you slept well,” Jasper says. Eva smiles, as she takes his hand, and for a moment longer, the world is peaceful.


	2. Pottermania

“Annabelle, why do you need 10 complete collections of Harry Potter?”

“Mark. Mark they don’t have a clue. Order them, Victor left one of his credit cards lying around and it’s pocket change for him.”

*

„No.”

„Nelli. Nelli please. This is a classic. How did you manage to avoid Harry Potter?”

“There’s no way I’m reading that.”

“I will just… leave this here.  Check it out.”

*

“I won’t lie to you, Annabelle, I am having difficulties in understanding how me reading this book would help us whatsoever.”

“It’s HARRY POTTER! Campbell, please, back me up.”

“Come on, do you think Campbell read this?”

“As a matter of fact sir, I am a Hufflepuff.”

“See?!”

*

“Jasper, come out. You can’t just Unseen Passage away from confrontations. Come on, occult is your thing. You’ll love it.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“Fine. We’re watching it next movie night then.”

“…”

*

“Eva, I have something for you.”

“Oh, thank you! I am sure this will be a lovely read.”

“…”

“Annabelle? Why are you crying?”


	3. Empty

After all is said and done, Eva goes back to his Haven one last time.

There is no sound there, no one clock that could break the silence with its gentle ticking. The room was spacious enough before, but now it seemed terrifyingly empty. There was dust flying into the air with every step she took, surrounding her. If she breathed, that would surely be an inconvenience.

She makes her way to the library, touching the books, making sure that they were in the correct order. It didn’t seem right to take them; they were his, as was this place.

She felt like an intruder.

Looking through the cupboards, she found a photograph of Chloe, that Jasper must’ve kept from when he was still alive. She smiled sadly, as she cleaned the frame with her sleeve a little, and put it on the coffee table. Right next to it, she placed the ring she gave him.

She put the ward on the entrance as she left, one that would prevent all Kindred to go in this way.

“Finally,” she said “your secrets are all yours.”


	4. Paws

When Jasper entered his haven and heard a shuffling noise coming from the library, he took out his knife and prepared for a fight. He sneaked into the room, slowly and silently searching for the source of the noise.

A cat wasn’t what he expected to see. Slightly surprised, he lowered the knife and moved in closer, trying to determine whether some stray Gangrel found their way into his haven. The animal looked normal, not ghoul-like (or shapeshifting kindred-like) at all. After a moment of consideration, Jasper decided to become visible again.

The cat didn’t pay him any mind.

It was an all black cat, probably one of the strays that sometimes wandered around the park. However it got here, Jasper decided, it needed to go out again. He picked up the cat by the scruff of its neck and put it outside.

“Sorry, but I have a feeling Ramona would have complaints if you ate one of their rats.”

The cat meowed back.

Jasper returned to the haven and forgot all about it.

*

The next night Jasper woke up with a cat on his head.

“Enough is enough. Go away.”

“Meow.”

“No, I mean it. Get out. You are supposed to be afraid of me.”

“…”

“I am not going to feed you.”

*

Thankfully, black fur wasn’t too visible on a black hoodie. But it was visible all around his haven. It was everywhere, and for the first time, Jasper was thankful he did not cook; otherwise he would be eating mostly cat hair.

He did, however, like to read, and the cat seemed to treat all of the open books as a free bed.

“No. Stop. Do you know how old this book is? Fine. -Lay down on an ancient incantation and see how that works out for you.”

Of course, for the cat, it worked out perfectly.

*

“Your name is Ripley.”

Ripley didn’t seem impressed with her new name. She was, however, impressed with the cardboard box Jasper brought home. Thankfully, he managed to safely remove the contents of the box before she got inside.

“If you have to live here, can you at least, I don’t know, sleep in the box?”

As if to answer, Ripley immediately moved from the box to his knees.

“Ok. Great.”

*

“I don’t know, Jasper, I really think this collar is too small for you,” said X, walking out of a pet shop. Jasper rolled his eyes and took it from him. “Thank you, X.”

“No problem. Anytime. Hey, do you know when… Jasper? Jasper? Oh no, he’s gone.”

*

Jasper put the collar on Ripley. She meowed, trying to turn her head around enough to see it.

“Don’t complain. You wanted to stay here, you need to comply with the rules. This is my haven, after all.”

Ripley looked at him as if it was completely new information to her. Eventually, she settled down with her new collar and went to lay down on a stack of books.

Jasper got used to it.


	5. Quiet Night

Jasper usually woke up first, when the last of sun’s warmth could still be felt in the air.  He opened his eyes, slowly; blinking a few times, as some habits never went away. His bed wasn’t very big or very comfortable, but it was more than enough.  Before, there was a singular pillow and a blanket on it, but now he made sure there was always enough to accommodate Eva.

He still wasn’t used to her lying beside him. It felt too usual, too normal; something that he could never hope to achieve in his undead state.  He was still catching himself expecting her to move away, to show any sign of disgust at the way he looks, but it never came. It was confusing, at times, comforting at others, and he wasn’t entirely sure why was she risking so much to be with him.

She was still asleep, cuddled at his side, her head on his chest. He curled a lock of her hair on his finger, knowing that she should wake up in a few minutes.  He let the hair gently uncurl before he did it again, wondering how she looked like before Strauss’ curse.  He felt the Beast stir in his chest as he thought of the man, quiet anger that was quite difficult to get rid of.

Whatever he could have tried would not be very effective if he was on his own. Strauss was old, powerful and he would have certainly met his final death.

_I can’t have you going after him._

As much as he hated to admit it, if he wanted to do anything about it, he would have to include more people in the plan. Maybe if Victor and Nelli served as a distraction, while he and Annabelle try to get the blood… maybe. On the other hand, he would have to tell them what it was for, and it would require them to put their lives on the line.

Which they probably would have done, and that worried Jasper. The main weakness of the coterie was immediately visible to anyone who looked closed enough: neither Annabelle nor Victor could act like they didn’t care about the rest of them. If riled enough, even Nelli could slip, and he wasn’t any better himself, considering the sheriff situation. And if the word got out about his connection to Eva, well, who knows in whose ears it might end up.

She stirred and his attention was immediately pulled back to her. He kissed her forehead, as her eyes fluttered open.

“Hi,” he whispered.

“Hello,” she answered. “How long are you awake?”

“I just woke up a few minutes ago. I, uuh, I don’t mind staying like this a little longer though. If you want to.”

She chuckled in response, intertwining her fingers with his.

Jasper didn’t know how much time has passed. It’s been so long since he allowed himself to relax like this that he let himself enjoy the sensation.  They spoke in hushed whispers, words getting lost in the space between them; gentle touches scaring away the shadows of danger lurking on each corner.

“Do you need to meet the coterie today?” Eva asks, and he smiles.

“No until Victor suddenly calls me.” It was one of those rare nights when everything seemed like it was going to be ok.

“Would you like to read some books?”

“Yeah, sure. Do you have anything in mind?” He absentmindedly made circles with his thumb on her palm.

“Well, I _do_ still have that Harry Potter book Annabelle gave me.”

“I… can’t tell if you are serious or not.”

“I did promise her I’d try to read it.” Eva was certainly teasing him, but Jasper decided to pick up the glove. He got up, and eventually found the weird book their resident Brujah liked so much.  Sitting back on the bed, he opened it on the first page.

“Chapter one, The Boy Who Lived. Well, that proves he is not a Nosferatu once and for all.”

The tale of Harry Potter took at least an hour of their night, before they decided to put it on hold (“for now, obviously”) and moved into occult works. After that, Eva spotted something on his desk.

“What’s this?” She touched the colourful cover of a textbook.

“Well, uh, “ he stuttered as he picked up “The New Penguin Russian Course: A Complete Course for Beginners” “I just thought maybe I could pick up some basics. You know, greetings and Cyrillic and stuff. I haven’t started yet.”

“I could help.”

“Yeah, I mean, yeah, if you want to. I’d like that.” He hated this nervousness that still got to him at times. Eva didn’t seem to mind that at all; as she took the textbook from him and looked through the first few pages.

“Maybe we could do that after…” Eva hesitated for a second. “After a walk?”

She looked hopeful. Jasper knew she spent most of her nights alone in the Observatory out of the fear for her safety, and that she longed for the outside world. At first, he thought about the danger, but then he realized, they could both become invisible, find a quiet place, look at the stars however sappy that was.

“Yeah. That would be great.”

It was a beautiful night. They did end up using their powers before they found a place in the corner of the park, one where the trees would mostly obscure them from any prying eyes.

They talked, and kissed, and Jasper realized that the joyous anticipation of tonight almost made him look forward to what comes in the future.


	6. lost call

_Ib, the new sheriff of the Camarilla._

Victor felt the wave of emotion rush over him, and if he was alive, his heart would start to beat faster, he would sweat or feel that awful clenching sensation in his throat.  But since he was dead, he was left only with the confusing web of feelings, that he wasn’t even sure how to untangle. Nothing made sense anymore, and he had to stutter through the rest of the conversation with Fiorenza.

He was relieved after the line went dead, after he could sit on the floor, his back to the wall and his face in his hands.  He wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry as Fiorenza’s warnings about friendship kept replaying in his mind.

_She’s as good as dead._

He can’t get her out of this one. She went too far for him to follow, and it didn’t matter if they could outmanoeuvre Camarilla anymore, if there wasn’t any way for him to help her.

And once they figure out that she was still helping him…

He wished they could talk, one last time, face to face; like in the good old times. He wished their last conversation wasn’t a phone call while he was in the car ride to Anaheim. He wished he could somehow make sure she was safe.

Suddenly, he felt as helpless as when he was freshly Embraced.

He heard the door open, as Nelli came in. He didn’t look at her; he suspected she might have listened in on the conversation. She didn’t say a word, sitting next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

They sat like that for a few minutes, in silence that could not comfort either of them, before Nelli spoke up.

“Victor…”

“Not now. Not right now. Please.”  He was so tired. They rescue one, but they lose another. How long will that circle continue? How long until they lose one of the coterie?

“Alright.” Nelli put a hand on his head and brought it to her shoulder.                    

Just a few seconds of physical reassurance; that’s all they could afford, before they both got up, and joined the rest.

They had things to take care of.


	7. Question

_What does your revolution need, asks the voice of Sanchez in a deep dark void, a leader, or a martyr?_

Most Kindred are surprised when she makes it most of the way through the revolution. She grows weary; the red jacket has more and more holes, patches and dried up blood covering it, but she speaks nevertheless.

She does so with passion and fury that they didn’t see in many, many years and some get caught in that, the feelings that left them years ago returning for but a moment; enough to spark something new.

_Can she really lead them? The Valkyries sing in the abandoned halls of Valhalla, their voices echoing in the skulls of Nordic gods, Or can she only die for them?_

She’s reckless, and everyone knows it. She’s a Brujah, after all. It is normal. It is expected.

She’s young, and most realize it. Not trained in our ways. Not ready to leave people behind.

She breaks down, finally, and they are there to comfort her.

(They won’t always be around, and might disappear at any moment, but just for a second, she believes.)

_Jasper’s uncontrolled laughter turns to a quiet sob. How many people? How many people am I worth?_

She stands before the powers centuries old; a secret kept through centuries, a structure that has stood through thousands like her. Wars have been lost and won; rebellions have risen and fallen, lifetimes passed without change.

She raises her hand and makes a fist.

She isn’t going to be the first one who tries to land a hit.

One night, she wakes up to the realization that she’s probably not going to be the last.

_Who do you think you are, the Beast growls. Feed or you will die. Wouldn’t that be funny, the mighty leader dying of starvation?_

She always asks them. That helps, makes her less guilty, more in control. Of course, it is a thinly veiled lie; she’s just that kind of monster that likes courtesies.  Deep inside of her head, the Beast sighs, content.

_Eleanor’s playlists and Mark’s warm hands._

She meets the Death like an old friend. After all, they met once before.


	8. the dawn breaks, lost whisper echoes

He was feverish again.

Suzanne wasn’t aware that their kind could become feverish, but there he was twitching and looking around nervously; like a rabbit about to be hunted down. He reached for her with trembling hands, putting his head of her shoulder.

Vannevar was not the man she once knew anymore.

He murmured unintelligible words and she stroked his hair, gently, as if to not scare him away.

“Everything is fine, my love.”

Not only Anarchs but Camarilla as well; everyone was waiting like vultures over a dying animal, watching every single step he took. Once he was gone, they will all jump on the opportunity to tear some tiny domain for themselves. Therese would be the first in line for it, she was sure of that.

None of it mattered, of course. Not here, in this room, where only the two of them existed, where no harm could ever reach them. She remembered the mob in France, the escape they were forced to make and she swore to herself she will not allow that to happen again.

The dawn was upon them.

He fell asleep so early nowadays; sometimes before the sun even appeared on the horizon.  She took it upon herself to help him to bed, reassuring him once again. She held his hand, wishing for him to have at least a moment of sanity, some sign that he wasn’t all lost to her. They were rarer and rarer, and she treasured every moment when his sight focused again, when they could have an actual conversation, when he would apologize for whatever was happening to him.

“I love you,” he whispered before closing his eyes and letting the death of the day take him; and she was sure that even when everything else becomes a fever dream to him, at least these words will remain real.

If he burns, she will burn with him.


	9. Safe Travels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> why did I write this? no idea but now it exists

„Hello, Miss Ib.”

„Campbell! You know you can just call me by my name, right?”

“You told me that before, Miss Ib.”

“Ok, we’re stubborn, I see.”

“…”

“Is Victor in yet?”

“He’s in his office, Miss Ib.”

“Thanks!”

*

“Don’t you sometimes wonder if we chose the wrong hill to die on?”

“Excuse me?”

“You know. Mortals, mixed up in kindred affairs…”

“We shouldn’t talk about it, Miss Ib.”

“I won’t tell Victor if you won’t.”

“…”

“Oh right, you can’t lie to him. Tough luck buddy.”

“I don’t find it very tough, Miss Ib.”

“Really? Calling Victor out on his bullshit has been the best part of this job.”

*

“Campbell? In a pub? I can’t believe my eyes. What are you doing here?”

“I have a day off, miss Ib.”

“A _day_? An _entire day_? Victor must have been feeling really generous, huh.”

“I can practically see the sarcasm seeping off you, miss.”

“Well, he deserves every ounce of it. But if you’re here, and I am here… is he even still alive? Who’s running the shitshow? Tell me it’s not Peterson.”

“It’s Rovers.”

“Thank God. I still can’t believe that place can run without us.”

“I have my phone on me at all times, if they need me.”

“Of course you have.  Well if we’re both here we can at least have a drink. Before they call to tell you that everything’s on fire.”

*

“Miss Ib! Are you ok? Do you need help?”

“I’m fine. Some fucking asshole ran into us. It just looks bad.”

“… Do you at least want a bandage?”

“That would actually be pretty helpful. Thank you.”

*

“So, Chicago.”

“Will you be coming back?”

“I hope so. Don’t leave, this place will fall apart without you.”

“I don’t intend to.”

“Have a good night, Campbell.”

“Safe travels, Miss Ib.”


End file.
